


Double System

by ReubenLack



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2765858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReubenLack/pseuds/ReubenLack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing is more relaxing between friends than a gentle, rainy day. Tsukiyama & Kaneki fluff. Gift for tumblr user flagfighter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double System

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NanakiBH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/gifts).



> Gift to tumblr user FLAGFIGHTER! I hope you enjoy! <3

_“_ [ _Said no more counting dollars… we’ll be counting stars._ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg) _”_

The days in this place were dreary, interspersed only with the sounds of jovial fun down the stairs or the quiet tip-toeing of steps outside his room. Kaneki wasn’t always cooped up like this, but it seemed the pile of books scattered aimlessly around the room was hardly helping his situation. A few people would come in from time-to-time, interested in either discussing what they knew about the dramatic affairs of the world outside or giving advice on what else he should read. They were nice in that respect; nothing truly bothered him anymore.

This room was serene in its quiet. At least… until the always talkative Tsukiyama Shuu was back on the scene.

“Ahh, so you’ve finally finished the book I gave you last week, yes?”

He didn’t even need to look down from his current text to know who was here. Sure, his ability to smell fellow ghouls wasn’t as top-notch as it’d be if he was a full-ghoul, but at least he knew that distinctive way of walking.

“Yeah,” was all he said, folding the corner of the page he was on and closing the book. Carefully, he placed it on the close bed stand. He then looked up to the purple-haired man, crossing his arms. The room remained still, even if a light flurry of rain began to beat against the window outside.

“Don’t tell me that’s all you have to say,” the taller man cooed, finding the space next to Kaneki on the bed was a more than perfect place to talk.

“I did enjoy it, if that’s what you’re asking,” Kaneki replied curtly, his blank expression appearing more annoyed than usual. At this, Tsukiyama frowned, reaching out to gently touch the boy’s shoulder.

“…are you… alright?”

There was another momentary silence, only interrupted by the increasingly loud rain outside. Tsukiyama looked genuinely concerned because he _was_ , even if Kaneki wanted to blow him off again. Their relationship had definitely had ups and downs; some days they could easily talk, other days—like today—the half-ghoul was more difficult to break into. Perhaps it was due to the growing stresses that came about due to his mission. It was hardly a simple thing to desire the end of a group like Aogiri and some form of victory over the CCG. This world was more than wrong… it was so broken.

“Kaneki-kun, I don’t like seeing—”

“It’s alright,” he said softly, turning to look at Tsukiyama again, hand extended to meet the fingers on his shoulder. “I’m fine. Just... tired is all.”

“Then you ought to rest,” the other ghoul said, slowly retreating his fingers in fears he’s moved too fast.

“I didn’t say _leave_ , Tsukiyama-san.”

He had caught the other’s hand before it was able to leave his shoulder. Something appeared on his face that seemed almost foreign these days. An expression of true joy, a hope that hadn’t yet been extinguished.

A smile.

“Don’t you want to discuss the book you let me borrow?” Tsukiyama didn’t need another invitation. With a smile of his own, he took his place besides Kaneki on the bed, hand returned to the side of his right arm. It may have looked awkward to an observer considering their significant size difference, but Kaneki hardly minded. After all, this was a friend, and one who he was slowly beginning to trust more and more with each day.

“I was worried it wouldn’t interest you,” Tsukiyama said quietly, as if too much excitement would threaten to break the connection the two shared. “Physics isn’t something I personally dabble in, but I figured… with your desire to learn about every aspect of fighting… some of these elementary principles might me perfect for you.”

“ _Tres bien_ ,” Kaneki replied, snorting at the end of the phrase for good measure. He let out a quiet laugh, as did Tsukiyama, a man who hardly ever blushed. Kaneki thought he should do it more; he was surprisingly cute with the color on his cheeks.

“In all honesty,” the boy continued, “I found the section on astronomy to be very relevant.”

Tsukiyama adjusted his position; bringing his hand to Kaneki’s other shoulder, succeeding in wrapping his arm around his neck and nudging closely by his side. Why waste the opportunity to be so close when the opportunities to do so were so limited?

“The movement of objections, of anything really, is like a dance. Take for instance… a double system. Two stars that orbit a neutral point in space. If you looked at them from afar, it’d be impossible to tell them apart or even how they were organized vis-à-vis each other. However,” Kaneki continued, enjoying the topic enough that he was smiling again, “if you analyze the system properly, one will always be able to predict and understand their orbits.”

After a moment of taking this in, Tsukiyama nodded in understanding. “And if you face an opponent in a confrontation, you’ll know how to adjust your own movements to lead to a victory.”

Kaneki nodded, though a blush on his own cheeks appeared, embarrassingly forcing him to look down for a moment. Tsukiyama said nothing, just watching, waiting. Anything too far with this boy, especially in his newfound _intense_ state, could shatter everything. It was hardly difficult to imagine something causing Tsukiyama to be kicked out. So far, he was doing fine. That was as much of a success as anything.

“There’s something else it can mean too.” Kaneki looked back up at Tsukiyama, the blush still there but seemingly repressed through sheer will. “A dance can be between two opponents in a duel… or—”

“Two lovers,” Tsukiyama cut in, unable to control himself. For a second, he felt like he’d just gone in and broken everything. But the darkening color on the boy’s cheeks demonstrated this was clearly not the case.

“If you say so,” Kaneki said with yet another smile breaking out on his lips. It was impossible to hold back the happiness that fluttered inside his body, the warmth of Tsukiyama felt firmly against his right arm. He had been suspicious of this man from the very beginning, had been betrayed, but then saved, all in a series of a few weeks. Kaneki had learned that Tsukiyama cared and greatly, _greatly_ wanted more of him. Maybe it was still that carnal desire for flesh… but a voice inside his mind told him it was something more intimate, something more loving.

The rain began to slow down outside, and the pitter-patter of the water rushing down the windowsill brought a renewed silence to the room and the whole home. Kaneki surmised that everyone was out.

“Kaneki?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I want to show you,” the taller ghoul said, gently running his fingers through the back of Kaneki’s hair.

“A-alright,” he said, slowly pulling out from the other’s hands as they got up from the bed. At first, Kaneki wasn’t entirely sure where Tsukiyama was leading him, but that was only a mystery for a brief period of time.

The two went outside of the home, where the grass and trees were all soaked with the rainwater. Nothing else was falling from the sky, and yet Tsukiyama’s eyes were faced upward. There were no more words exchanged between the two for this moment and Kaneki soon realized why.

With the storm having cleared, there was not a single cloud to block their view to the heavens above. Even with the light pollution from the urban city they lived by, a few specs of light could be seen piercing the darkness. A few twinkled; even more appeared to be sending their beams of hope right to the pair. With knowledge of the stars and planets, Kaneki could easily point to each constellation. He could even tell you the story behind its name and what each piece of light meant.

“Thank you,” Kaneki said, looking back at Tsukiyama before returning to the show above him. He didn’t know what else he could say! Shuu had not simply given him a book that could teach him ideas of motion and countermotion for the inevitable conflict the two would face, he had opened up an entirely new world for the boy to explore. When the dreams of those on the ground aren’t enough, you can always dream _up_.

Tsukiyama brought his arm back around Kaneki’s shoulders, eyes fixed to the same spot above. The two would stay like that all evening… at least until Kaneki kissed the man’s shoulder in appreciation.

The two would no longer share each other in the home. No, they would know each other through the sky itself.

_“Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly…”_


End file.
